California Baptist University’s athletic teams compete as the Lancers, a nickname tied to the medieval weapon-bearing cavalryman. The university’s athletics visual identity is managed through a structured brand system built around three foundational graphic elements: the CBU lettermark, the Lancers wordmark, and a shield icon. These elements combine to form the official marks used across CBU’s 18 varsity sports programs.
Design and History
The current athletics identity traces its origins to 2003, when the original bell tower icon, CBU lettermark, and Lancers wordmark were designed. At that time, the CBU letters appeared in lowercase form. In 2017, as CBU’s athletic programs celebrated the opening of the Events Center and prepared for the transition to NCAA Division I competition, the university replaced the lowercase “cbu” letters with uppercase block lettering to align with the style of most collegiate logos. The Lancers wordmark was also updated during this period. In 2021, the CBU letters received further refinements, including taller notches or ink traps, wider outlines, and tighter kerning, changes intended to optimize appearance and clarity on smaller digital applications such as social media. The 2021 update also eliminated several 2017 logo variations, and the stacked logo was discontinued in 2022. [1] [2]
The current CBU Athletics logo hierarchy designates the CBU lettermark as the primary athletic logo. Unlike the university logo, the athletics lettermark excludes the bell tower icon, a deliberate choice to offer more balance and flexibility across applications such as team uniforms, scoreboards, and training equipment. The Lancers wordmark serves as the secondary athletic logo, and the shield icon functions as a tertiary accent mark. A lockup combining the shield icon with the Lancers wordmark, called the Lancers Shield logo, is used as a secondary alternate. [3] [4]
Sport-specific logos are created by combining a primary or secondary athletic logo with the official sport name set in Serpentine Bold Oblique type. The preferred lockup includes the CBU lettermark with the sport name, while an alternative version replaces the institution name with the Lancers nickname. [5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The shield icon is described in the official brand guide as an abstract accent mark for CBU Athletics. Because of its abstract nature, the guide recommends minimizing its use as a standalone element and instead pairing it with the CBU lettermark or Lancers wordmark. The guide also specifies that the shield icon must always face forward in the direction of travel whenever possible, such as on apparel or vehicles where mirrored logos appear on both sides. [4]
Blue, white, and gold are the official primary colors of the CBU brand. The athletics brand guide specifies Pantone 655 (HEX #002554) for blue and Pantone 132 (HEX #A07400) for gold. [6]
Typography and Design
Sport logos at CBU use Serpentine Bold Oblique for the official sport name, per the athletics brand guidelines. The guidelines state that no other font may be used in sport lockups. For general university marketing communications, Proxima Nova serves as the primary typeface, with Sabon as a secondary typeface for formal applications. [5] [7]
The brand guide emphasizes that the CBU lettermark was deliberately designed to showcase all three official university colors: blue, white, and gold. The 3-color version is preferred whenever possible, with simplified 1-color versions reserved for production limitations such as embroidery, engraving, or single-color printing. [4]
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